That'd be the butt, Bob

Allegedly an infamous moment on The Newlywed Game the reported quote never actually occured. Interestingly though, as is often the case with many urban legends, the incident referenced was real and has merely been changed over the years in the telling.

For years host Bob Eubanks claims that the answer was never one given on the show and that it was merely a fabrication. Quite validly he taped a large number of shows and a minor incident was probably forgetten. After all, the legendary phrasing of In the butt, Bob was never actually uttered.

In the inaccurate, legendary version of the proceedings the character stating the phrase is almost always the wife of the couple. Tellings differ, however, as to whether it is her guess as to what her husband had said or whether her husband was the one who had guessed incorrectly what her previously supplied answer was. As well there tends to be a strong bias towards making the character black.

The real incident actually occured during a 1977 "Maternity Day" episode. When asked Where is the strangest place you've ever gotten the urge to make whoopee?, itself a relatively common question on the show, contestant Henry Perez, a swarthy gentleman, sure, but not African-American, stated that it was in the car on the freeway. When his wife Olga came back out to state her answer the following transpired:

Bob: Here's the last of our five-point questions. Girls, tell me where, specifically, is the weeeeeiirdest place that you personally, girls, have ever gotten the urge the make whoopee. The weirdest place. Olga?

Bob: No no no . . . no . . . what I'm talking about is the weirdest location, the weirdest place . . .

It takes little imagination to realize that a scenario like this was probably bound to occur given the question. Likewise while the phrasing was different from the oft-quoted version in many ways the quote that has become the stuff of urban legend makes for a much better joke. It's quick, snappy, and gets to the point without the hemming and hawing that was present in the actual scenario. Likewise the alliteration on "butt" and "Bob" is too good not to repeat.

So, while it may not be quite the same as the legend the incident most certainly did occur thus giving us persnickity, fact-checking types the opportunity to once again tell our late 70sgame showanal sex reminiscences with our heads held high.

References:
Snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/newlywed.htm)
YouTube
Video footage of the incident is available on the internet from multiple sources